Air Force PJs train with European Air Group forces Published Oct. 26, 2011 By Master Sgt. Dwayne Gordon 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs WESTERN EUROPE-- -- Members of the 56th Rescue Squadron and 48thFighter Wing trained with European Air Group forces to hone their Personnel Recovery (PR) skills at the annual European Air Group Combined Joint Personnel Standardization Course 2011. From Oct. 13-20, the EAGCJPRC, formerly known as the Combined Joint Combat Search and Rescue Course, provided scenarioswith the goal to produce useable end products that promote interoperability between the European Air Group and partner Air Forces. The EAG is a group of European nations working together to enhance the tactical capabilities of the group's air forces through better cooperation. "This course has been held for the last five years by the EAG," said Master Sgt. Louis Distelzweig, 56th RQS Pararescue superintendent. "But it's the first time PJs have been involved." During the course, the PJs participated in scenarios that teamed them with other nations and offered them a unique opportunity. "It's been a good opportunity for us to integrate with the EAG and partner forces," said Tech. Sgt. Jeremy Diola, 56th RQS Pararescue NCOIC. "There are about 10 or 12 different countries here and it has provided us the chance to learn Personnel Recovery tactics and procedures from each other." One team the PJs held in high regard was the Swedish PR team. "Us and the Americans got a long well at this training," said Capt. Hans Siljelo, Swedish PR specialist. "My team is very well trained like the Americans, but yeah we probably are a little better," he said while joking with a 56th RQS PJ. The course culminated is an exercise that combined scenarios from the previous days. The final exercise called for the56th RQS PJs to parachute into an area withSpecial Forces from Poland and Spain. Once they landed, the American PJs mission was to recover four personnel from a crashed aircraft, while the other forces split to recover others. Swedish, Italian, Spanish and Polish Special Forces using air assets from Italy and Spain then extracted the teams from the area. "The exercise went pretty good," said Diola. "It's difficult to coordinate something like this with so many different countries involved, but we got some good training out of it." The USAF PJs bring a lot of real-world experience and expertise to a course like this and one way they standout from the EAG and other partner forces is by the support members they bring. The entire team who represented the USAF is listed below: Master Sgt. Louis Distelzweig, 56th RQS PJ superintendent Tech. Sgt. Jeremy Diola, 56th RQS PJ Team Lead Tech. Sgt. Rich Hinojosa, 48th Operations Support Squadron, Aircrew Flight equipment, NCOIC Tech. Sgt. Joseph Archangel, 488th Intelligence Squadron, Independent Medical Technician (IDMT) Staff Sgt. Craig Patterson, 56th RQS PJ Staff Sgt. Josh Kruse, 56th RQS PJ Staff Sgt. Brian French, 56 RQS PJ Staff Sgt. Henry Matsuoka, 48th OSS, Aircrew Flight equipment Staff Sgt. Ryan Hall, 48th OSS, Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape (SERE) Staff Sgt. Roy Davis, 56th RQS Intelligence, NCOIC Senior Airman Eli Reynolds, 56th RQS PJ Senior Airman Kyle Holland, 56th RQS PJ